More students and campus leaders will have the opportunity to connect in an expanded job shadow program this fall, and applications are now being accepted through Oct. 19.

The size of the UC Davis Leadership Job Shadow Program is more than doubling to partner students one-on-one with 26 campus leaders for a day that may include observing and participating in meetings, attending events, and meeting other staff and faculty. Last year, 37 of more than 130 applicants received job shadowing appointments with 12 campus leaders.

The program includes Chancellor Gary S. May and other administrators, vice chancellors and, for the first time, deans. Their areas of responsibility are diverse: the Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts, audits, communications, athletics, legal affairs, libraries and more. Four provide leadership at UC Davis Health, the UC Davis Medical Center, the School of Medicine and the Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing.

May launched the program last spring to offer students insight into the complexity and challenges of running a top ten research university. “Students get a chance to look under the hood of UC Davis and better understand what it takes to run a university,” he wrote about his experience being shadowed by three students. “In turn, we get to hear directly from the students about what’s on their minds and where they hope to land in life.”

In May, undergraduate Lizeth Velarde Perez shadowed Kelly Ratliff, vice chancellor of Finance, Operations and Administration, and sat in on a meeting about the Long Range Development Plan for campus growth. “I was encouraged to ask questions, and people were really receptive,” Velarde said.

The job shadow program, open to any currently enrolled UC Davis undergraduate or graduate student, selects participants through a competitive application and screening process.

Organizers are seeking applicants with an avid interest in learning about the university and its structure. Successful applicants must commit to shadowing the designated administrator for an entire day and to sharing their experience with other students — by speaking to a class or student group, or discussing it through social media, for example.

For priority consideration, students should apply online by Oct. 3. Applications will close on Oct. 19.